Looking Through You
by AngelT
Summary: Five years had passed and yet another ship lands on Pandora carrying first five people to be allowed in since 'The RDA Incident'. One of them has a set task: to find the traitor and bring him back. Choices will be made. Morals will be questioned.
1. Welcome To Pandora

Author's Note: Good day to you, oh friendly and curious person that dared to open this link. A little bit of background - I used be around for quite some time, but after a while my fiction enthusiams dropped down and I disappeared, leaving tonns of unfinished stories and unremarkable trace in the society. ''Avatar'' ressurected the passion back a bit. That and an interesting discussion on one gaming forum about 'where your loyalties lie.' The idea for this fic sort of sprung in my head and settled down there, nudging me and prodding to bring it to life. So yes, here goes nothing!

A little something you, dear reader, perhaps should know: a) I am not an English speaker, so if your eyes bleed and fall out from the horrendous mistakes I might've made, I will happily fix them. Live and learn policy applies. b) This story will rotate mostly around an OC, since I like to toy around with own characters, giving them all new perspective on the actual cast. Of-course, do not worry, it won't be a fest full of Sues and lots of the actual heroes will be heavily involved. c) I would love your comments and suggestions, so please, feel free to say what's on your mind.

With that I shall shut it and let you be. Cheery-o!

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**Welcome To Pandora**

She opened her eyes and blinked while staring straight into blue halogen lights on the ceiling above. The five years of dreamless sleep had gone by, and while it felt like an hour, mind was making clear that it was not so. All of a sudden a face appeared in her vision and quickly checked her out. It was a man in a white labcoat and he definitely said something. Katryn shook her head and there was a popping sound in her ears for a second.

"Miss? Do you hear me?" he asked again, putting a hand on the shoulder.

"Loud and clear." She answered, not recognising her own voice. Being a popsicle for half a decade really does throw one's organism out of balance. The technician nodded in acknowledgement and quickly checked something on his datapad. Katryn watched him attentively, while trying to recognise where her legs are and forcing brain to remember how to move them. The man seemed to understand her troubles as he smiled politely and pulled her capsule a bit out.

"It takes time to adjust. That's why the passengers are awakened several hours before the actual arrival. Plus, no-one would like to miss the scenery."

Katryn pulled herself up and made a little push backwards. In the gravity-free environment that little movement bounced her up and out of the narrow cryo-capsule that had been her home for the last couple of years. Without any effort she pulled out big bag with personal belongings and made her way towards the central chamber, where all the passengers would soon assemble awaiting docking procedures.

'All passengers' sounded extremely pompous for five people who had to pay astronomical price to get a place on the first private shuttle to Pandora after 'The Incident.' Every single person had to be approved, that included background check, letters of recommendation… Just name it. You could not blame the remnants of those events being overly careful. The other four people were scientists and technicians, who were always needed at Hell's Gate and who were eager to see Pandora, perhaps even more then before.

Kat unzipped her bag and dragged out huge and quite heavy camera. She was here for the whole different reason. Several reasons, actually. Pandora was always interesting, back when she was just a kid and the flowers looked pretty and now, when she knew the flora could bite your head off but if you snap a shot of it from a good angle that'll fill some holes in the budget. People in the other corner of the room gave her inspecting stare, mostly concentrating on the oversized digital camera. Lots of money was paid for this technical wonder. And for the one who is patiently waiting for her in Hell's Gate.

"My own Avatar." She whispered to herself and smiled. RDA might have left but the information on Avatar creation was still safe within the databanks. With the right sponsorship, provided the background check did not come up with some nasty personal info, one could order an Avatar. People who Katryn was working for thought it was necessary for her to have a clone. The woman agreed, that travelling the jungle as a three metre humanoid is easier then walking waist deep in some alien mud. The standard procedure would include an Avatar to be grown during the flight to Pandora but people got so paranoid that took matter into their own hands and whatever happens could only happen on their territory and on their terms.

Probably all of that was Sully's idea, thought Kat to herself and her hand, holding velvet cloth to clean the lens, made an irritated jerk. It was better not to voice her opinions about that man in the open otherwise her trip could end before it even started.

One person had finally decided to come closer and so he detached himself from the group. It was tall and lanky guy somewhere in his early thirties. He nervously adjusted his small round glasses and grinned. Kat felt pity for the poor guy who had probably used the remains of his social skills for week ahead.

"This is quite the camera you have…" he said quietly. "Pretty massive as well."

"Yes, that's my breadwinner… Modified to serve the needs, so to speak." Kat smiled brightly. She did not really want to chat with anyone but the guy made and effort and the least she could do is satisfy his interest.

"So, um, let me guess… "

"I'll spare you the time." Kat interrupted him softly, while quickly checking the settings that she installed before setting foot on board. "My name is Katryn Lloyd, I am a freelance photographer. My business on Pandora is taking lots of pictures and do so with the help of the Avatar that my sponsors so generously bought me."

The guy got in the state of awe and kept staring at her with the eyes the size of a soup bowl.

"Man, you are _so_ lucky! I would literary give anything to be Avatar driver! But I guess I should be happy my company managed to get me at least a ticket."

That was true. This was the first proper flight to land on Pandora after the clash between RDA and locals. The government closed the matter quickly and violently, Sully was marked as a traitor and any further sponsoring of Pandora-related activities seized its existence. That's where independent science companies and eco-supporters came into play. Those who had enough money still could chip in on unobtanium and tickets for the willing. Hell's Gate became a demilitarized zone and the only people who could get in were science folk. Well, and Kat.

"And what's your interest in Pandora?" asked young woman and quickly clicked the shutter, making the guy cringe from a flash and rub his eyes. The flash was not that bright but it was more then enough for the sensible scientist, so it seemed.

"Oh, I didn't introduce myself, did I? I am Troy Delford, microbiologist. I work for BioMicrLtd. So yes, my sphere is… germs, in simple terms. " He chuckled and pulled the collar of his shirt. "Guess does not sound as thrilling as photoshoot in the jungle, does it?"

"Hey, who am I to judge? We all have different perspective on 'thrilling'." Kat shoved her bag underneath a small table and nodded in the direction of other three people, who were standing a chatting amongst each other while holding to their backpacks and equipment. "And who are those guys?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his small backpack underneath the same table they were sitting at.

"Well, I only know their names, asked them a minute before I settled down here. That short redhead is Alex Ferr; I think she is a tech, not sure. The blond one is Siegfried Bauer, xenobiologist and the skinny-looking guy next to him is Vlad Kronov… Zoologist, I presume."

"Well, we have quite an international gathering going on here." Joked young woman and turned away to one of the big windows that were still covered with heavy metal panels. Troy got a hint and had fallen silent as well. Just as she wanted to put her camera away the intercom creaked and the pilot announced that their final destination point was in sight. The giant shutters on the panoramic windows gave a slight tremble and started to rise up, revealing the giant Polyphemus and its fourteen moons. Katryn grabbed her camera and quickly fiddled with settings, making a series of pictures before the viewpoint got taken by the scientists and whatnot, who immediately started a heated debate on the topic she couldn't care less about. Instead she had gathered her luggage and made her way to the airlock where she soon would pick up one of the oxygen masks hanging nearby.

For a split second the shuttle gave a formidable shake, signalling that it had entered Pandora's atmosphere after that, the trembling got much milder, however Katryn could still feel it with her feet. Slowly the other passengers had joined her, Troy leading the group and looking rather thrilled. Kat grinned at him. She felt quite excited herself but she could only imagine how important it was for enthusiasts such as Delford and his companions. Once again the transmitter above them made a chocking static sound.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving in Hell's Gate shortly. Please proceed with caution and be aware of your surroundings. Upon arrival you will be thoroughly checked for any prohibited items, so your full co-operation is required. Have a nice day."

While the pilot was still speaking the green light in the airlock flickered to red, warning people about the beginning of the decompression procedure. The woman with flaming red hair, Katryn remembered that her name was Alex, was the first one to put the mask on; everyone else followed her shortly.

The vibration of the deck started to increase, making Katryn wanting to climb something – she was not much of the space lover and even though she had quite a formidable flying experience she had never really enjoyed it.

The engines went quiet and the loud hissing sound of the massive door hydraulics hit their ears. Bright light filled the little chamber and Kat could swear she smelled the typical odour of jungle after the rain. But of course with the mask on it could not be possible. Soft warm wind stroked her skin and now that the shuttle mechanisms went completely dead lots of alien sounds had filled her ears. Katryn did her homework good enough to recognise the typical scream of a Banshee, the loudest amongst the cacophony of noises. Without further ado she grabbed her bag and jogged down the ramp, heading to the nearby gate, where, no-doubt, people were already waiting for her.


	2. The Welcoming Committee

Author's Note: I bring you another chapter! Woop, I guess... Gotta use the imagination while it's working. Probably looks kind of short, but I am not really fan of big chapters, so I usually brake them into small ones. Nothing major this time round, just the regular description and some of the original cast showing their faces. ^_^ Thank you for the lovely rieviews and hope you enjoy the new addition.

Salutations, AngelT

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**The ****Welcome Committee**

Hell's Gate. Also known as Extra-Solar Colony 01. Also known as a 'primary human outpost in never-ending struggle with beautiful yet deadly world of Pandora', at least according to several old documentaries that were roaming the Web after Pandora had just been discovered. Katryn would lie if she said she expected everything to look just the way it did five years ago. In her mind Hell's Gate, maintained by hundreds of people before the evacuation, and now left with only couple of dozens could not possibly be in the perfect shape. And yet it seemed as if no-one had never left. Excavation machines were still standing in a neat row on the farthest end of the field ready to roll out would the command be issued. Several heavy choppers, possibly Scorpions, were also located nearby but the machines looked as if they got abandoned in a hurry. Multiple crates and gas hoses were still chaotically lying not far way.

Katryn was the first to reach the gates. She hit the touchscreen panel and the small door slowly crawled up, inviting her in. Inside was yet another decontamination chamber and five seconds later the small light under the ceiling turned green, announcing the presence of oxygen in the air. With a sight of relief she took off her Exopack and threw it on the special rack nearby. With a hiss the door that was leading inside the facility had slid to the side and Kat stepped in, almost bumping in her welcome committee. In front of her stood a group of five, just enough for frisking every passenger from the shuttle.

"Well, I probably should welcome you to our little paradise." The guy in front broke the silence, his voice dripping with badly masked cynism. Quite tall and thin he was your typical science guy. He wore a field outfit, a bit shaggy in places, consisting from a red shirt, multiple pocket khaki vest and the pants of the same colour. He kept almost literary burning a hole in her forehead with an intense stare of light green eyes.

"Well, you probably should." Snapped Kat at him, not really impressed with the hospitality of the residents.

"Norm is not in his best mood today, Miss…"

"Please, call me Katryn." She flashed much warmer smile in the direction of the other male scientist standing behind the leading man. This one was shorter, sturdier, had glasses on and had an overall friendly atmosphere around him. The little nameplate on his lab coat had 'Max Patel' written on it. No doubt he did not need it, since after five years everyone was bound to get to know each other, but it was a nice gesture to make newcomers feel more at home.

"Sure, Patel, be the devil's advocate… No harm's done." The moody one rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Kat. "Name's Norm Spellman. You could say I'm a bit of an authority here." He did huge quotation marks in the air accompanied with several chokes of smothered laughter from somewhere behind. "And as you can see I am not appreciated around here."

Spellman reached out for her bag and managed to pull a smile on his face, trying to be polite enough and not to give more wrong first impressions.

"Shall we? Just a standard procedure, nothing major."

Katryn reluctantly handed the guy her luggage and they proceeded a bit further down the corridor, allowing other people to finally come in and get their portion of local welcoming procedures. Spellman quickly started to ravage her private belongings in search of whatever firearms she might have been hiding. Kat left him to this exciting task and took her time to look around. They were standing in a spacious hallway that had huge windows overlooking the landing field and massive electric-wired fence in the distance.

"Well, everything seems fine… Can I take a closer look at this though?" Norm's voice attracted Kat's attention and she turned around just to see the scientist holding her camera.

"Hey! Put that down." She exclaimed anxiously. "It's expensive and if you break anything…"

There was probably a hint of serious menace in her voice, since Spellman gave her a complicated stare and carefully passed camera in her hands.

"Ok, fine, don't be so touchy. It's not like I'd drop it or…" He did not finish the sentence as at that precise moment the bag he was taking off the small retractable table slipped through his hands and fell on the ground. Katryn gave Norm deadly stare and kneeled down gathering her stuff from the floor.

"You were saying?"

"Nothing." He grumbled under his breath and dropped down on the floor to help her. Somewhere between gathering her socks that were scattered around the wide terrain Katryn felt Spellman was once again staring right at her. With the annoyed face expression she threw her clothes back in the bag and lifted her head up.

"Get those sniper scopes off me." She said flatly, while zipping the bag shut and standing up. Spellman stood up as well and cleaned his knees.

"I just recognised your face. You're that new Avatar driver, aren't you?"

Kat raised one eyebrow out and started to walk further up the hallway, figuring that was the way to go.

"So, you've seen it? My Avatar? How is it doing?"

Norm caught up with her and pointed out to the left. The flashing sign on the wall helpfully announced that was the way to the laboratories and linking chambers. The quick tour had ended up in a dark large room filled with empty tanks. The lights were off; however blue illumination coming from one of the tanks was enough to find your way around. Katryn put her bag down and slowly approached massive glass construction. Inside it, in the pool of what seemed like water but more bluish and thick slept her other self – tall and lean teal-coloured creature. Its eyes were closed but it was moving, making small trembles with fingers, feet and tail. It looked like a child within a womb. Yet helpless child that slept and dreamt about the world she will once see.

"It's… beautiful…" Whispered Katryn almost inaudibly and carefully touched the glass. It was a crazy thought but it looked as if her Avatar had actually felt Kat's presence; it made a slight movement with its head and their faces were now facing each other. It felt extremely strange to look at the face of this creature and actually recognise the features Katryn saw in the mirror all her life.

"When… When will I be able… to drive this?" She asked still astonished, stuttering and having trouble finding the right words. Katryn saw a lot of crazy stuff in her life and it was quite a challenge to come up with something that would throw her off the track. This experience was so far the most shocking of them all.

"Whenever you are ready." Answered Norm. His hostility towards Katryn seemed to disappear a bit; perhaps he softened up seeing her reaction. He gently tapped on the glass, making the clone inside give another slight tremble and curl its tail. "You are lucky to have this opportunity. I would give up a lot to live through an Avatar once again." There was a hint of sadness in his voice. Katryn crooked her head a bit and gave him long examining stare.

"What happened to your previous one?"

"Got shot by RDA troops and lost somewhere in the jungle. We could not find it afterwards." Norm silenced for a bit thinking about something. "Not that it would matter. Avatar is a living shell. Wound it and it will eventually bleed to death, whether you are in it or not."

Katryn maintained a pause, thinking what would be the best to say. She could only guess that Spellman's Avatar was quite important to him. Probably the recreation of a new clone would not be possible without some of the resources available only on Earth. That's how her Avatar was made. It must have been really hard, knowing that something is within your reach and yet not being able to grasp it.

"I'm sorry." She finally squeezed out, but at least that was sincere. Norm shook his head and stretched lips in a tired smile.

"Don't bother, really. That was five years ago. I got over it."

_No you didn't__,_ thought Katryn to herself but tactically silenced; she did not want to continue the conversation that got a sudden bitter tone to it. She reached out to grab her bag but scientist beat her to it.

"Let me show you your quarters."

The sudden change of his attitude towards her was surprising but not unpleasant. Contrary to the popular belief amongst her friends and occasional co-workers, Kat was not a conflict person. She did have a straight-forwards attitude that rubbed people the wrong way sometimes but she always preferred to keep the communication on the friendly terms. The passages and corridors they walked through all had lights off and even though looked clean and fairly maintained it was obvious people did not visit here much. Katryn guessed it was for the purpose of resource saving. Hell's Gate had several generators that used to do a great job in supporting large base with loads of people. However, how much do thirty-forty really need? Spellman probably read her mind. Or perhaps it was just the thoughts one would expect from a newcomer.

"The complex is huge, but we don't need much. There used to be separate wings for techs, scientists and grunts. Nowadays there's so little of us we can live like kings in one place and still have plenty of space left."

Katryn nodded, more to her own thoughts then to the Norm's words and quickly took a snapshot of the hallway. There were never enough pictures to take and you don't know what might be useful. They soon stopped near one of the many doors that all looked same. Spellman quickly typed something on the little panel nearby and waited for the confirmation sound. The control panel made a soft chirp and the door slid to the side, revealing small room with basic necessities: bed, bathroom with a toilet, small shelves and cupboard near the wall. Not too crammed and just enough place to avoid claustrophobia.

"Here we are. Your place." Norm dragged her bag in and placed it near the bed. "All of us are further down the hallway and your group will be located here." He wanted to add something but then waved it away with an irritable jerk of the hand and turned around to leave. "When you think you are ready for a little Avatar trip go find Patel, he is our linking genius."

He walked off when Kat jumped to the doorway and poked head out.

"Norm? It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise." Was the short answer and the scientist disappeared around the corner. Katryn stood there for a second till she heard voices coming from the direction she had arrived not so long ago. Kat did not have any more energy to socialise with anyone else, so she quickly locked the door and dropped on the bed. Technically there was still unpacking to do, computer to set up and photos to browse through; however the whole new experience and thrills of the day really shook her up and the only thing Katryn wanted to do was to catch some sleep. She quickly took a shower, changed and slid under the sheets, closing her eyes and listening to the sound of the jungle, smothered by the glass of the small window above her head but still clear enough.

The easiest part of her travel was now officially over.


	3. The Missing Link

Author's Note: Today's installment could be named 'I can do science me.' since yours truly decided to mess around with fake intellectual stuff. To be honest, if memory serves me well it was not explained in details how Avatars are made. So I added a little touch of my own, trying to keep it real and plausable. :) Also, thank you for all the reviews and watching, that means a lot to me and helps to keep writing.

Best wishes,

AngelT

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**The Missing Link**

"And then he gave me that furious stare, said 'Nothing' and decided to honour me by gathering stuff from the floor." Katryn yawned and slowly made another pattern with the spoon in her porridge. Or so she preferred to call it. A compilation of nutrients that was cheap, effective and tasted like socks. But beggars can't be choosers. Pandoran produce was not suitable for humans due to high concentration of carbon dioxide in the tissues so the only way to survive were the ever reliable K-rations. When RDA left, they had abandoned everything including large amount of supplies. More then enough to feed couple of dozens inhabitants of Hell's Gate. On top of that the cultivation of Earth fruits and vegetables was giving nice results, since Pandoran soil, once stripped of all the toxic elements, was quite fertile.

Kat woke up pretty early, the dawn was just illuminating the skies, and took her time to rearrange clothing, hook up her computer and check the pictures she had already taken. Most of them she was not happy with, though the space ones looked nice and she saved them on the small USB stick she was always carrying around. When that was done Katryn quickly checked small digital chronometer standing on her bedside table and started to get dressed. Missing first meal with the new co-workers would not make a good impression. When she arrived the first to notice was Troy. Katryn could swear it looked like he was stalking her on purpose. He sat together with the people she saw on the shuttle and some of the local population, including Max. The woman smiled to a face she was actually happy to see, gave Troy a vague wave, acknowledging his greet and grabbed her portion, quickly sitting down next to Patel.

"He is a nice guy, really. Just don't get on his bad side. Norm is vicious, believe me." Answered Max giving a little laugh of appreciation and taking another mouthfull. After he swallowed his face made a little cringe and he grinned. "I've been living here for quite some time and yet I still cannot get used to this crap I have to shove down my throat."

Katryn nodded in understanding.

"I hear ya, pal. I've been eating this more then I want to admit and it still tastes as bad as the first time. Think happy thoughts, you just might make it through the day."

"Body's just a temple. Temple that has to be fed. In the end as long as stomach is full you will not see me complaining. Too much." He added seeing sceptical glare Katryn threw his way. For a while they both fell silent, each busy thinking those happy thoughts and imagining food tasted better then it actually did. At one point Troy stood up and asked if anyone wanted anything to drink. Katryn really felt she could use some boost so one sweet smile and the scientist was sent off to get a cut of espresso.

Coffee tasted much better then the main course and Kat took her time to enjoy aromatic steamy beverage. However there was still one thing bothering her, an unsatisfied feeling after the conversation with Spellman.

"Max?" She called him a bit uncertain if it was really necessary or better leave the issue be. "What does it take to grow an Avatar?"

"You talked with Norm about that, didn't you?" He sighed. "I don't know what to do with that guy, really."

"He looked quite upset about what had happened." She said, starting feeling progressively guilty about bringing this up. Apparently that was quite an issue for many people on the base for various reasons. They've become a bit like a family, so the troubles of one were the troubles of everybody.

"He's getting over it, give this another five years." Joked Patel a bit strained and his face got a distant expression. "Now, Avatars. The embryo needs DNA of the driver and of the native. They are combined and voila, you have a miracle of science."

"That easy, huh? Then how come you don't make one for Spellman?"

"There is one little 'but'. We need to have a specific brain and neuro-system scan of the driver in question in order to create a proper neurological imprint for the Avatar. The machine that does that is not here, it's on Earth."

Katryn was listening patiently, completely forgetting about her coffee. Max gave her quick glance and continued. No matter the subject he liked to get attention of the audience and gush a bit. Of course, that was all coming from good heart and noble intentions.

"There was no need in this apparatus before. Avatars were created on Earth and grown during flight to Pandora. After everything that happened and we were contacted by your employers it was decided to do otherwise. Modern science is a brilliant thing, really. We can recreate DNA just by having a numeral code of it. That was not difficult at all. "

"So you got my code and my full body scan?" Asked Katryn, gaining more and more respect for science with every passing minute. She would not call herself uneducated; however it was interesting to hear it from the perspective of the specialist.

"Yes, that's why right now there is your own working Avatar just waiting for you to link in. Simple, isn't it?" Patel gulped down last remains of his tea and pushed the cup aside. "With Norm it is not like that. Sure, we can grow him an Avatar but it will be just an empty carcass without the scans, which we cannot obtain due to their price."

"Always the money." Finished Katryn and shook her head slowly while reaching for her long forgotten coffee and sniffing it carefully. It got cold and cold espresso was not amongst her favourites. She stood up and brought the dirty dishes on the other side of the mess hall, where they got accepted by a person in charge of today's kitchen. Max was leaving as well, so she signalled him to wait and quickly jogged to the door.

"Hey, one last request. I'd like to start working, so do you have time for me today?"

"Katryn, time is one of those things I have plenty of around here." He smiled widely and patted her on the shoulder. "Appreciate the concern though. Grab whatever you need and find me in the linking room in fifteen."

They parted ways; Max headed in the direction of laboratories and Kat quickly went to her room to grab the camera, her notes about Pandoran objects of interest and faithful USB stick. All that got stuffed in the formidable size messenger bag that she had found in the closet and that obviously was left there for her, since AVTR logo was clearly giving away its purpose. Exactly fifteen minutes later she marched in a brightly illuminated white room filled with linking chambers standing in a neat half-circle. Somewhere in the back of her mind Kat made an association with coffins but she quickly disposed of it and approached Max, who was sitting in the office chair tuning the settings.

"Punctuality, I like that." He said when he noticed her and pointed at the bag. "That's for your Avatar, right? I'll give it to Tracy; she is just about to join John to help unhooking your ride. Larry, how's everything?"

Larry, the shy looking laboratory assistant poked his head from behind the flat screen and nodded curtly, giving thumb up.

"Well, we're just about ready." Max stood up and led her to one of the linking chambers that looked exactly like the other nine. "This is yours. Just lie down, close your eyes and try not to think about anything."

Katryn opened up the machine and carefully touched foam-like padding. It felt squishy but warm. Trying to clear ongrowing excitement that was building in her, Kat sat down and swiftly swung her legs over the edge, settling down and feeling how the foam quickly readjusted to her body, hugging every curve like a second skin. Max waited till she was completely still and lowered down a metallic construction that looked like a set of thin metallic wires.

"Look at all that bling." She tried to joke as now the excitement replaced itself with nerves. Katryn felt extreme tension; she wanted this to be over as quick as possible.

"Normally people undergo some simulations. But apparently it is not all that necessary." Max was quickly running the last diagnostics, flipping on and off some switches and inputting a string of commands on the touch screen which Kat could hear but could not see.

"First linking is extremely important. Mess it up and you might not be able to connect to your Avatar again."

Kat frowned in annoyance. She had read about that. When Avatars were first introduced several cases occurred when drivers did not manage to connect to their clones due to messed up first linking. That cost RDA wild amount of money and lots of heads rolled that day. It did not cross her mind till Patel so successfully reminded her of those incidents.

"Did you really had to say that? Now? When I am about to link?"

"Apologies." Followed guild-ridden reply. "Now. Just relax, don't panic and it will work like a charm." With that he closed the lid, sealing Katryn inside to what once again seemed like a coffin. Even more so now that she was inside. She closed her eyes and quickly did a little exercise to even out her breathing and calm down racing heart. Switching off her mind was a bit trickier. It was full with mixed emotions. Worry. Curiosity. Impatience.

Something changed in the monotonous tone of the machine and all of a sudden Kat felt like something was sucking her into the vortex. Darkness had suddenly exploded in many colours: pink and white dominating the picture. The light, that was swirling around her suddenly started to form a tunnel, Katryn felt as if once again something was pulling her in. A second later everything turned black.

At first there was nothing. Just darkness and warmth. Kat was scared to open her eyes and see the linking chamber and understand that she had failed. Then, for a split second, she had heard the ocean. The waves turned to mumbling and that, in its turn, turned to words.

"Miss Lloyd? Can you hear me? Miss?"

The air… it smelled strange. Usually sterile it was now full of familiar scents that she could recognise but they felt so much stronger and definite then before.

Katryn sat up. Two technicians who were apparently watching her, jumped away in surprise, they did not expect such a rough reaction. She guessed those were Tracy and John and they were wearing Exopacks, so the linking must have been a success. Slowly Kat turned her head and stared straight in front of her, in the eyes of own reflection. If she thought that seeing Avatar in an incubator was strange, then this went off the charts.

She raised her hand. It felt like her hand, even though Katryn's mind refused to accept that. It was not her limb. Her real self was sleeping on the other side of that thick glass. But it felt so right. As if she never knew better.

"I can't believe that…" Kat muttered to herself and swung her legs over the table, trying to stand up. Suddenly the floor fell downwards, making her panic and therefore loosing the balance, almost crashing into the nearby table. Something painfully slapped her thigh; Katryn reached out and grabbed what turned out to be a tail with a long brush on the end.

"Kat, easy… Baby steps." She heard Patel's voice through the intercom. "Calm down, we need to check your reflexes first."

"Hey, I am walking, isn't that enough?" she answered but still settled down. John came to her; in his hand he was carrying a little needle.

"Please, relax your palm." He asked politely, showing her exactly how to position her hand. Katryn followed his request. He quickly poked her fingers with a needle. It was not sharp enough to seriously injure but suitable for checking nerve reaction and sensitivity.

"Touch your nose. Elbow. Ear. Elbow. Knee. Toes."

Also that Kat did without any effort, leaving both laboratory technicians and Max quite satisfied. After all the procedures were over she was helped to get disconnected from the life-support and showed the way to the dressing room.

"Norm will meet you outside." Informed Tracy before she politely walked out and closed the door behind herself, giving Katryn some privacy.


	4. Into The Wild

Author's Note: Ugh, I've been busy recently. And with nothing worth mentioning. Got addictred to Dragon Age and Metro 2033, so I was either playing my brains out or reading. This chapter was in my head since the time I finished previous one, but I could not bring myself to start typing it. See, I am not the biggest fan of tie-ins. It's where nothing happens but you must type it because it makes the progression smoother. Plus, I believe myself to be an extreme lame-o when it comes to typing descriptions. Dialogues - love them. Describing - eeeh... This chapter will probably be long, boring and forced beyond belief. I apologise and hope it is still readable. :) Now I shall make me some hot chocolate and study for a bit. Duty calls, as they say.

Rock on,

AngelT

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**Into The Wild**

Once again Katryn stepped out of the complex but now she was free from wearing the Exopack and could freely inhale the fresh air. It smelled so much different then the air back on Earth or the sterile atmosphere inside the base. For a second in front of Kat's eyes flashed a picture from her childhood: a small enclosed garden with two flowerbeds and a tree. The image left her mind almost immediately, it was very long ago, however the sudden feeling of strange comfort had stayed. The colours looked brighter then she remembered them, from yesterday. Somehow everything seemed to have additional angles and perspectives. Kat put her bet on the different spectrum that the locals may perceive things in.

Norm was said to be found near old Avatar Station, still used by the remaining scientists but slowly decaying, as the staff was unable to perform the regular maintenance on their own. Katryn quickly searched in her messenger bag and took out the camera, which finally felt right, not the heavy bulky piece of equipment she had to hold with both hands in order not to drop. Kat heard chirping somewhere above her head and saw a flock of small bird-like creatures flying into the sky. A quick zoom and she clicked the shutter, hoping to catch at least something; the 'birds' were incredibly fast. There was no time to check if the picture had any value to it since Katryn remembered Spellman was waiting for her, probably getting pissed off more and more with every passing second.

She quickly went up the small stairs and entered the hut. There were rows of beds, some of them free, some of them occupied with other Avatars, peacefully sleeping while their owners were in the 'real world', as Kat named it for herself, doing their daily jobs. She attentively looked at the faces of the blue giants but she could not recognise anyone. The woman carefully reached out and put her hand on the shoulder of an Avatar to her right, female with soft and gentle features. Her hair had several small braids with beads in them, which Kat herself did not have and could only guess it had something to do with the Na'Vi culture. The skin of the Avatar felt silky and warm. It was so strange to think it was a living being. Incomplete and lacking a vital part but still alive, in a way.

"You took your time." Said Norm sourly as Katryn appeared on the other side of the station and ascended the stairs. His words sounded a bit muffled because of the mask he was wearing but the woman still heard him clear enough. Just as she wanted to open her mouth and apologise her gaze fell on a tall lanky figure behind Spellman. Troy in flesh and blood. He stood there, staring at the ground, uncertain of what to do and clutching fingers around the straps of the bag which no doubt was packed for the trip.

"The hell… I thought I was going in alone." Finally brought Katryn out, still trying to restrain herself from yelling. The words came out with an unpleasant undertone, making Delford even meeker. Norm gave her a warning stare, which basically said she had to behave or the whole excursion could be easily cancelled. Katryn quickly remembered who was in charge and apologised, still not really meaning it.

"Sorry. So, enlighten me on this sudden change of plans." She said slowly, staring down at two people in front of her and feeling superior due to the simple difference in height. Her face was calm but the tail was giving out her real emotions, angrily lashing at the side of her hip.

"At the best of times people never went alone. It's not going to happen now." Continued Norm and Katryn caught an irritated intonation in his voice, as if he was explaining something easy to a child. "Now, pay attention, I shall say this only once. This," he pointed at a relatively small cylinder-shaped object at his feet. "Is a sonic repulsor. We don't use guns anymore so if you want to keep your limbs, you'll be this thing's best friend."

The scientist quickly kneeled down and hit a small button at the top of the repulsor. The apparatus made a little nudge and the cap popped up, emitting ultrasonic noise that made Katryn cringe a bit and rub her ears. Apparently she was the only one who could hear it, as neither Norm nor Troy reacted in any way different.

"Oh that's just peachy." Kat muttered to herself stepping a bit away so that ultrasonic sound would stop bothering her. "So I have to work with that thing on and the sound making my teeth hurt?"

"Other drivers do so without any problems. You either live with that or stay inside the base." Apparently she was not the only one with the bad mood today. "Repulsor works in a three metres radius. That's why we give you two of them, one for each."

Katryn shifted her weight to the other leg and silenced. She did not know what to say. Truth to be told, she had a phrase or two in her head. But all of them were way far from anything nice and peaceful.

Kat was really looking forward to explore the jungle alone. She could find her way around and would be able to care for herself, would the need arise. Delford would just drag her down and now she also had to watch out for someone else. That was never a pleasant task. She suddenly felt Norm giving her the glare just like the one from yesterday and understood that she fell out from the conversation.

"Katryn. Are you even listening?" He demanded and tapped on the top of the repulsor. Even Troy was giving her a disapproving look, making Kat flush in both shame and irritation.

"Yes, sonic repulsor, three metres. Got it." She answered impatiently and looked up in the sky, which was a beautiful colour of light blue with a small feather-like clouds lazily drifting by.

"I said, that you have the whole day, you disconnect from you Avatar when you go to sleep. You leave your Avatar at the station."

"I've read the damn manual."

With those words she marched past Norm, grabbed two repulsors as if they were merely plastic toys and headed out of the gates, with Troy jogging behind her, desperately trying to catch up.

When they stepped out into the jungle the metallic fence behind them closed with a loud noise, announcing to everyone out there that two possible preys came out to play.

"Can you… Please… Slow down… Please?" Huffed Troy behind her and Katryn hit the brakes, mercifully waiting for the scientist to come closer. His khaki shirt was dark brown from sweat, it must have been really stuffy outside but Kat did not feel it. One of the many advantages of pretending to belong here, she guessed. The guy had finally reached her and stopped, putting hands on his knees and breathing heavily. Katryn once again felt bad for her behaviour. Perhaps she was a bit too harsh on Delford.

"Listen, I am sorry. That Spellman really ticks me off…" She apologised and kneeled down, trying to level herself up with Troy. But even sitting on her knees the guy was still somewhere down below and crunching herself even further felt inappropriate.

Troy muffled something, tried to wipe his forehead, forgetting about the mask and settled down on his own rucksack, a second later remembering that he put fragile equipment there and jumping up as if something bit him in the ass.

"No need to apologise, Katryn. I did ask specifically if anyone was going out in the morning. Could not wait to start working."

"Well, we have that in common then." She smiled and stood up, brushing dirt from her knees. "Shall I help you carry your bag?"

"I will not allow a woman, no matter how tall and strong she is, carry my burden." Troy announced gallantly and with a grunt pulled his backpack up. He may have been an annoying stalker but he had charm, Katryn had to admit it.

Apparently they came to a silent agreement that she will lead their tiny expedition since Delford did not move and gave her a questioning look. Katryn shrugged her shoulders a bit uncertain and reached in the depth of her bag, taking out her notebook, which seemed to be so extremely small and fragile now. She had that little book for a long time, it contained all the information she ever needed for her jobs. Locations, places, landmarks. Little teal bookmark marked the beginning of her notes about Pandora and Katryn, very carefully, in order to avoid damaging the pages by accident, skipped to that part.

"I need Helicoradians to start with. You know… Those sort of swirly… things."

"Oh, those are basically everywhere. Just go straight ahead, you will find them eventually." Once again Troy proved to be a walking encyclopaedia. Katryn decided to follow his advice and proceeded forward, carefully pulling twigs out of her way and watching Delford struggling with high grass.

By the look of it, here used to be a road that was once leading into the jungle. However, during the course of history it was proved many times over that the nature will claim anything that was ever taken from her, sooner or later. Much sooner if the human interference and resistance was close to nothing. Once spacious road, made for small transports and independent vehicles to easily reach their destinations, it was overgrown with plants of all shapes and sizes. The clicks of Katryn's camera were almost constantly disturbing the serenity of the forest, as there was always something that caught her eye. The initial idea of consulting the guide and then taking pictures did not work out quite as well as she hoped, so Kat quickly switched to plan B and put the notebook away. In the end eyes were the most reliable source of information.

Several times Troy had to stop and take ground samples. That usually was a long and boring process, which basically consisted of three steps. Put down the repulsor, activate it and wait till the guy fills every of his carefully labelled testing tubes. Several times he asked Katryn for a bit of assistance; apparently the plants were not hostile towards Avatars which allowed the woman to get some of the material for Delford and not being splashed in the face with poisonous venom.

At some point the bacteriologist discovered something that could be a gold mine for his kind and settled down for good. That's when Katryn really started to get bored out of her mind, so she carefully grabbed her bag and slid away into the nearest bush, not meaning to go too far away. She did not see any particularly interesting fauna but managed to take a snapshot of Prolemuris pack travelling up high in the trees. The monkeys stopped for a second, interested in the strange sound but when Katryn tried to come a bit closer and get a good look at them, the little creatures emitted squeaks and purrs and disappeared into the foliage. Pursuing them would be a waste of time, so she turned around and walked back to her companion.

Ten minutes passed by when Katryn suddenly understood she was walking around in circles. Too excited to pay attention where she went, Katryn did not bother to pick a landmark so she would not loose herself in the alien forest where everything seemed different and yet the same. A wave of chocking panic ran through her head but as quickly as it came, it went away again. Getting scared would be the death of her, Kat learned this simple truth years ago, while in the similar situation in Venezuela, praying opposing forces would not see her and trying to find her way back to the camp.

She circled around for a bit, trying to remember the direction she came from. Finally Katryn gave up finding a way out by herself and called Troy as loud as she could. A little hope that he might just be nearby turned from a sparkle into a full-blown fire when Kat thought she heard something further ahead. She darted forward but the forest around seemed to get thicker and thicker with every step she took. Now it was obvious she got lost and it was not part of the plan. At least not right now. Katryn grinned bitterly, remembering how just several hours ago she was plotting a way out of the base, since the real beauty of Pandora could only be seen at night and no-one would let her go.

Unlike in Venezuela, where the scariest thing you could encounter was a rebel with one or two big guns, Pandora was full of dangers, both known and not quite so. In pursue for their prey animals could get really inventive and Katryn was not really keen on to be on the other end of their wits.

Kat looked up, trying to find the sky amongst the mass of leaves, the little patches of blue could still be seen now and then, when the wind lazily stroked the tops of the trees. The sky was growing dim, making it clear the woman spent quite some time wandering the wilds.

The rainforest started to wake up, Katryn heard muffled noises, buzzing, careful squeaks… She could swear she heard something that sounded like laughter but it hardly could belong to anything that walked on two feet.

Standing in one place would be pointless, Katryn believed if she goes forward she might just stumble on the traces of civilisation. Perhaps an abandoned research unit… Anything that might help her to spend the night without a danger of her head being bit off by a happy viperwolf. And just maybe, if the situation takes an interesting turn all of a sudden, she'll be able to find what she came here for. The night was still young.


	5. When Hell Freezes Over

Author's Note: Ouch! It's been what, a month, since the last update? I've been distracting myself and side-tracking and being side-tracked... I have an attention span close to zero sometimes. XD See? I'm doing it again. So... The chapter. Nothing really to say about it. I re-read it three times, seem to be content with what I've written. Corrected what I could but I suspect my punctuation got messed up. I love long sentenses, so when I understand that it was too long and confusing I break them in smaller and that, sometimes, comes out strange. . More crawling in the woods, even more head-butting. The regular mix.

Hope you'll enjoy it and if you have anything to say - review ;)

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**When Hell Freezes Over**

Another twig slapped Katryn in the face and she angrily pushed it away. The woman had been wandering the jungle for what seemed like hours, her feet started to hurt but she did not feel comfortable settling down anywhere in the territory that might belong to the pack of viperwolves. Or perhaps to a nasty thanator.

Katryn knew that this region of Pandora used to be littered with small research units that served variety of purposes. Some were used for scientific research, others for topography and intelligence gathering. Her plan was to stumble across one of them and spend the night there, hoping to continue her journey at dawn.

The night covered Pandora in a thick dark blanket. For a while Katryn could hardly see where she was going, however soon the plants around her seemed to come to life. Slowly beautiful shades of teal and soft pinkish colours flamed across the tree-trunks and leaves and the darkness crept away in the furthest corners of the forest. Katryn forgot her troubles and could only stare in awe at the beauty around her. Slowly, as if afraid to scare the moment away, she opened her bag and dug out the camera. Fast clicks of the shutter echoed loudly, so strange and alien. Katryn noticed that her actions drew the attention of some small inhabitants, so she quickly packed her stuff and proceeded onwards, sometimes throwing cautious glances over her shoulder.

On top of everything it started to rain; large single drops soon turned into a real wall of water, forcing her to seek shelter under the trees. That did not help much and soon Kat was wet as a dog, probably smelled the same. Her bag was waterproof and since there was not much point in sitting under the bushes and pity herself, Katryn stood up and marched to where she thought she saw a gap between the trees. Her eyesight and intuition did not deceive this time round and soon the woman found herself in the middle of the small open space that was obviously not nature's doing. In the far corner, overshadowed by trees that reminded Katryn of Earth willows, stood a safe heaven – the research unit, that looked overgrown but otherwise intact. Kat exclaimed happily and rushed towards it. In the body of Avatar there was small chance she would fit through the door no matter how flexible she was. Quick inspection of the unit revealed some bullet traces and a web of cracks in one of the windows. No doubt the traces of the battle that was tearing Pandora apart five years ago. Katryn carefully slid the bag off her shoulder and hid it under the unit, away from pouring rain. She then stretched out and grabbed a nearby bark that also was glowing in her hands. The bark was dead, however the moss was living on and it reacted on Kat's touch, illuminating her fingers with soft greenish colour. Was she not so tired she would, perhaps, examine it closely but Katryn felt exhausted and her only wish was to lie down and doze off. Suppressing a yawn and gathering last of her strength she swung her improvised weapon and landed a blow on the damaged window. The glass produced a miserable creak and the cobweb of cracks became larger. Kat mumbled something to herself; not happy with humans, who had advanced technology allowing them to build thick glass and swung her arms again. She looked like a parody on a golf player. Kat put remains of her strength in that hit and it did pay off. A loud crack was heard, followed by a screech and the window shattered, small splinters flew through the air, reflecting bioluminescence in their sharp edges; a beautiful sight but Katryn could not care less right now.

She grabbed her bag and crawled through the narrow window inside the unit. It looked like people never even used it – everything was sterile, no traces of documents or machinery, just an empty space with some cargo boxes in the corner. Katryn moved those to barricade the window she had just broken; it gave her protection against any undesirables that might want to disturb her nap and, at the same time, gave her space to fully stretch her legs.

It seemed like Katryn fell asleep way before her head even touched the cold metal floor. There was a feeling that she was falling somewhere and that she lost touch with her body. The woman got scared but just for a second, since the next moment she opened her eyes and stared mindlessly at the blank lid of her linking chamber. With the gasp of relief she threw the coffin open and a second later found herself looking at several faces that wore all kinds of expressions – from relieved to downright furious.

"You… why you even…" Norm was the first to break the tension. "What on Earth were you thinking?"

Katryn shoved him away and stretched out. She still felt exhausted but the body did not ache, it was a strange feeling: Kat's mind was telling her she could fall right here and sleep but the muscles felt refreshed and rejuvenated. The woman suppressed the yawn

"Dude, take a chill pill. I am fine, the Avatar is safe… What's the problem anyway?"

"Alone, without repulsors, without a second pair of eyes! Katryn, this is just careless!" Spellman almost high-pitched here, making several technicians grin behind his back, even though he was right and the woman was reckless enough to forget what's at stake.

"Ok, you are right, Norm, I admit it. Now can I please go and sleep, I am way too tired to hear you lecturing me about responsibilities."

Somehow the crowd dissolved, leaving only Max standing and listening to their conversation. It was probably really late and since the cause of all the uproar had finally taken her time to re-appear everyone, whose curiosity was satisfied, went to hit the sack. Spellman did not plan to let her go that easy. While Katryn was lazily sitting on the edge of the linking chamber and suppressing one yawn after another the scientist made his way to the centre of the room and fiddled with some equipment. A three dimensional map of the region lit up in the air, trembling a bit. Max made an inviting gesture and joined Norm. Katryn, not having much of a choice, dragged herself to where two men were standing.

"Seriously… Not the best time. I can't think properly."

That sentence hit straight into the wall of indifference, Norm snapped his fingers and pointed to the map, making Katryn even more irritated; she did not like people downgrading her with such sorts of gestures.

"This is where you and Delford were gathering samples, according to him." A small red light lighted up not far from the massive virtual structure of Hell's Gate. "Now, what had happened?"

Katryn squinted at the red light and robbed her nose-bridge.

"Simple, I wandered off. Troy was boring me out of my mind and I needed to take some pictures anyway. So when it was time to return I could not find my way back. I circled around for a bit, called him… Thought I've heard something and headed there. By the way, do you know moss here does not grow on the north side of…"

"What happened then?" Norm interrupted her curtly. Katryn shot an angry stare in his direction. Her patience was coming to an end, she was tired and the attitude he expressed towards her was quite offensive. Kat did not take crap from people, no matter their status.

"Now listen here, Spellman," she crossed arms on her chest and furrowed brow a bit. "You either show me at least some respect or I walk out right now and you can talk to that wall. I admit it was stupid but it does not mean you can talk with me in such a manner."

Norm opened his mouth and Katryn could bet that whatever he wanted to say would not be an apology and peace offering. She, in her turn, would not budge and they probably would spend most of the night head-butting. Max, who was quiet during the whole discussion finally made a step forward and put hand on Norm's shoulder.

"Calm down. It's not the first time this happens."

"Right… Jake." Sighed the scientists and rubbed his forehead. He, then, turned to the woman who gave him cold stare and squeezed out something that, with a bit of imagination could be interpreted as a smile. Whatever it was, Katryn had won this round, so she nodded curtly and returned her attention to the map.

"I studied this area before. So I knew RDA placed a lot of mobile labs and stations across the jungle. Even though I wandered the place for quite some time I estimated that I could not wander too far away."

Patel, who replaced Norm in front of the map and took the matter in his own hands, nodded to his thoughts and input a chain of commands into the little terminal in front of him. For a second the map jerked from static interference and suddenly lots of yellow dots appeared on the surface. Katryn guessed those were the units. She came closely and inspected the surface but it was extremely difficult to point out where her Avatar was stored since the woman did not have a clue where she was circling this whole day.

"I am sorry… But I cannot recognize anything."

"Was there anything in particular that you remember? Any landmark?" Spellman once again wedged into the conversation, the man, so it seemed, could not sit quietly. Katryn pondered for a second. There was nothing she could recall. Everything was so beautiful in that luminescent glow and yet everything looked the same.

"Well…" She mumbled a bit uncertain. "The storage container… it had bullet marks on it."

Kat thought that was quite some bit of useless information but apparently it was not so. Spellman prodded Max and whispered something, while wagging his finger at the map. Patel nodded and typed something on the dashboard. Norm checked it and shook his head in annoyance. The mime show in front of Katryn was amusing her till no end. She wanted to note that she is still here but decided not to. If they're whispering, they probably have their reasons. Kat's attention was diverted to the map where some changes took place. Mainly, lots of yellow lights suddenly became dim.

"This is where the majority of the fighting happened." Explained Spellman, who automatically took back the role of the virtual guide that Max so frivolously usurped several minutes ago. "Assuming that you truly saw those bullet-marks we think you are somewhere in this region." He pressed a button and several dots lit up even brighter then before. Norm abandoned his post and started to walk up and down. There was a sudden vibe of the university professor coming from him and Kat bit her lip not to start laughing. Her opinion of authorities was never particularly high.

"You've been on foot for the majority of the day. An average human covers this much ground." Behind him an area lit in pale red. "But you were in a body of Avatar and while you are untrained and very weak by the Na'Vi standards, you still will cover double of that." A wider area on the map now flashed in purple. Katryn bit her tongue as she desperately wanted to comment on the pompous tone of Norm's voice but the man was making sense and she just eyed the virtual simulation in front of her. The purple colour reached quite far from Hell's Gate and once again Katryn got struck with a feeling of disbelief. It felt like a dream. She stared at the map, at the big purple splash in the middle of it and could not believe she covered all that ground in one day… And that somewhere in the middle of the jungle, under pouring rain tapping on the roof of the research unit, beaten and exhausted lay the other her, the Avatar. Through the whole day while Katryn had been trying to find her way back to the base, she tried to wrap her mind around this concept. That it is not her body. That her real self is safely sleeps in the linking chamber and dreams about what she sees now.

"It's like a dream… But a dream of freedom and choices."

Spellman stopped at his tracks and threw her a bit of a puzzled look.

"Did you say something?"

Katryn snapped out of it and shook her head a bit. She still felt a bit disorientated by the emotions that flooded her mind.

"I'm sorry… I must've been thinking out loud."

"I assume you did not listen." Follow the tired remark. "Let's cut it short then. God almighty, I don't know why am I even trying?"

Katryn felt guilty thus she silenced and patiently waited for Norm to start his shortened version. The man told that she was probably quite a chunk away from the base. He, then, noted that there were only three outposts in that direction and all of them, even though spread out, still were on the same line. In theory, Katryn should just turn around and walk back in a straight line, while orientating on the sun.

"It will probably take you another day to come back here. Just… Don't go deeper." Warned her Norm, while she was making her way to the door. Katryn was intrigued, so she stopped and turned around. That shot painfully in her neck. Apparently the brains, not happy with the rest of the body being so cheerful and full of energy, decided to catch up and give her feeling of great fatigue. Probably fake, but who was she to argue?

"What's deeper?"

Spellman looked ashamed of himself as if he blurted out something he was not supposed to.

"Um... Omaticaya's new grounds are there. They are even less fond of people and Avatars then before. So do the math yourself."

Katryn thanked him for the warning and walked away, she could not wait to roll in her sheets and sleep; too much had happened today. However, something that Norm mentioned made her grin wide and a spark of excitement lit in her eyes. All that boy-scout crap in the woods was not in vane.

"When hell freezes over I return here." She whispered to herself and cracked her knuckles.


End file.
